SkyElf's Children
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: StarPryde gives birth


StarPryde had gone into labor about six hours ago, and things were going quite smoothly of course.  
  
That is, until Moira discovered a little secret inside of StarPryde's womb that very morning.  
  
"She's carrying twins!" she said. "That's why she's starting to have some problems!"  
  
"Twins? But wouldn't you have picked it up by now?" Nightcrawler asked, cocking an eyebrow. Frowning at some data, Moira nodded a bit.  
  
"Aye, normally. But this wee one somehow got itself in a position where you cannae see it!" she explained.  
  
"Will this hurt her or the babies?" Meggan asked. Moira thought about it for a moment, slowly shaking her head.  
  
"Not if I can do it right." She said. "I dinnae think it will be a problem though..."  
  
StarPryde's scream pierced the air.  
  
"Ach! She's starting to give birth!" Shoving Captain Britain to one side, Moira ran into the room and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Do you think she'll be all right?" Meggan 616 asked, tilting her head to one side. Calmly, the Meggan from StarPryde's world walked up to the closed door and she placed a hand on it, closing her eyes slowly.  
  
"She has to be." She said slowly. "If I can try and soothe the emotions, things won't be so hectic in the end."  
  
"Don't you think Moira's going to need help in there?" Shadowcat asked. Smiling faintly, Meggan shook her head.  
  
"No, she's a very determined woman, your Moira. She'll try to save both babies and the mother."  
  
A scream rang out, followed by Moira's shouts to push.  
  
Shadowcat winced a bit.  
  
"It must really hurt thinking you're giving birth to one baby and then finding out you got one extra!" she said.  
  
***  
  
Hours Later, StarPryde was lying in bed, her hair wild and still wet with the sweat she had acquired from pushing out two babies instead of the promised one. When she heard a knock on the door, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up, wincing a bit.  
  
"Come in." she called. Moira came in, holding two bundles in her arms. "You didn't let anyone see them did you?" she asked worriedly. Smiling, Moira shook her head, slowly walking over.  
  
"Nay, I only took 'em to my room to make sure they were healthy." She explained. "Why dinnae you want anyone to see 'em?" StarPryde shrugged, as she got ready to hold her children.  
  
"Kurt once told me about some of his people's customs. When a baby is born, they are not supposed to be seen until they're baptized. I'm not going to hide them for that long, I just wanted to see them first!"  
  
"Well, here you are! Two beautiful babies!" Moira said, gently transferring the precious bundles. Gently, StarPryde moved the blankets and she looked at her two children with watery eyes.  
  
The first to come out, and who was a complete surprise, was a boy; with skin a lighter shade of blue than his father's. His ears were rounded like "normal" and his hands and feet had the "normal" ten digit count, but he had a tiny tail with a lump on the end that would become a spade when he grew older. When he looked up at his mother, his eyes were just like hers, except that they were the same shade of yellow as his father's were.  
  
The second to be born, and the one who was expected to be born, was a girl. Her skin was like her mother's but her feet and hands were exactly like her father's. She had no tail, but her ears were pointed, making her look Fay like. Her eyes were the same shade of amber as her mother's, but her eyes were completely amber, with no sign of pupils, just like her father with his yellow eyes.  
  
"You can go and get the others, Moira." StarPryde said. "I don't want to keep them waiting." Once Moira left, StarPryde smiled down at the two of them and in each of their ears, she whispered their true names to them, just as Kurt had told her the Romani women did with their newborns.  
  
Nightcrawler was the first one to enter, followed closely by Shadowcat.  
  
"They're beautiful!" she whispered, leaning over to get a better look. "Did you give them names yet?" she asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I have." StarPryde nodded. "But I'll tell you their secondary names." Shadowcat blinked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Secondary names?" she asked.  
  
"Nightcrawler knows what I'm talking about." StarPryde said simply. She smiled and looked down at her babies. "The girl is Johanna; God is Gracious. The boy is Kurt; bold and wise counselor."  
  
"Nice names." Nightcrawler laughed softly, sitting down and looking down at the two of them. Kurt reached up and pulled on StarPryde's hair lightly, making a gurgling noise. Johanna merely yawned, closing her eyes and falling asleep.  
  
As the others came in to see the babies, StarPryde thought that she felt arms hugging her around the shoulders gently. She looked over at Nightcrawler and she saw that he was sitting right where he was, looking down at Kurt and letting the baby play with the spade on his tail, laughing and mumbling German to him.  
  
They're beautiful, mein schatz.  
  
StarPryde gasped softly, making the others look at her with concern.  
  
"Are you all right?" Meggan 616 asked. Slowly, StarPryde nodded, looking around at them.  
  
"Yes, just a little chill a suppose." She mumbled, looking down again.  
  
Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, concentrating on the area just behind StarPryde. She made a slight shape, and when she was finally able to identify it, she smiled.  
  
SkyElf was standing behind StarPryde, his arms wrapped around her shoulders in a gentle embrace as he smiled down at his children. 


End file.
